Archived Posts/Notices

Due to forecasts of more snow, and continued inclement weather, coupled with continued freezing temperatures and the likelihood of roads re-freezing, Troop Meeting for tonight, February 17, 2015, has been canceled.

As much as we hate to cancel a meeting, THE SAFETY OF OUR SCOUTS IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY. Thank you.

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Every youth deserves the opportunity to experience summer camp. Camperships were created to ensure that any youth with financial difficulties is not denied an opportunity to attend summer camp at a Greater St. Louis Area Council property.

This program is not intended to fund all of the camp fee. Camperships will not exceed 50% of the full camp fee, except where extenuating circumstances are present.

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In just two weeks, we will get the opportunity to camp in the Tree Houses of S Bar F Scout Ranch, “Where,” according to Scouting Magazine, “the Highlights Are … Really High.”

In celebration of the Boy Scouts of America’s first 100 years, in 2010, Scouting Magazine created a new feature, called “Cool Camps,” in which one feature of one BSA camp that was considered to be unique and truly incredible was highlighted on the back cover. This feature only extended for the centennial year, meaning only 12 BSA camps were featured. Of those 12, S Bar F Scout Ranch’s Tree Houses were the first selection to be featured, nationally:

“When you camp here in a tent, the view will undoubtedly surpass what you see out of your bedroom window. But when you camp in a tree house, the sweeping vista becomes practically ethereal. That’s the draw of the S-Bar-F Scout Ranch in Knob Lick, Mo., about 80 miles south of St. Louis. Here’s what to expect:

• Five tree houses sit atop telephone poles. Walkways connect them so that you and your Scouts don’t have to climb down to visit your neighbors. One adult tree house has an electrical outlet and light, but the others are more primitive.

• During the summer, the S-Bar-F uses the tree houses for camp programs, but it rents them out as units the rest of the year. Packs, troops, or crews can reserve one or all five. Each one sleeps six in bunk beds.

• The tree houses remain in high demand even during the dead of winter, when snow covers the ground.

• Who needs four walls? These units feature an opening on one side that gives you and your Scouts a great view of 270-acre Nims Lake nearby.”

Troop 501 will be camping in the Tree Houses February 27-March 1, 2015. This will be a unique experience that our Scouts will not want to miss! This week, the Scouts will be developing their menus, shopping lists, and duty rosters for the weekend. Be sure to come, so that your voice will be heard!

It has recently been said that I am too much of a Boy Scout in the way I have conducted myself as President, and so I reviewed the Boy Scout laws and Boy Scout oath.

They say that a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. That is not bad for somebody who knew it 46 years ago.

And the Boy Scout oath is, “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout laws, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”

Well, if these are not the goals of the people of the United States, what they want their President to live up to, then I must draw this conclusion: Either you have the wrong man or I have the wrong country, and I don’t believe either is so.

When Ford died in December 2006, his family requested an honor guard of 200 Eagle Scouts. They knew how important Scouting was to the man throughout his life.

A fitting memorial to the man who once said, “One of the proudest moments of my life came in the court of honor when I was awarded the Eagle Scout badge. I still have that badge. It is a treasured possession.”

President Ford’s legacy continues with the USS Gerald R. Ford, a $13.5 billion, 1,106-foot aircraft carrier set to join the U.S. Navy’s fleet in 2016.

Last month, the ship’s crew released the Gerald Ford‘s official crest.

It features 38 stars, representing Ford’s tenure as our 38th president. The colors include blue and maize, honoring his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Michigan. But it’s the fluer-de-lis at the top of the compass that really caught my eye.

Paying tribute to Distinguished Eagle Scout, President Gerald Ford

“I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it … I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government, but civilization itself.”

—President Gerald R. Ford (1913–2006)

Scouting Affiliation

Eagle Scout Governor’s Honor

Guard on Mckinac Island

—President Ford Holding the flag

Beginning in 1924, Scouting played an important role in Ford’s life. At the age of 12, he joined Troop 15, sponsored by the Trinity United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned his Eagle Scout badge with Bronze and Gold Palms in 1928. He also participated in the Eagle Scout Governor’s Honor Guard on Mackinac Island. In 1970, Ford received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Grand Valley Council (now known as the President Gerald R. Ford Council), and later he received the Silver Buffalo Award.

Duty to Country

Lieutenant Commander Gerald R. Ford, Jr. 1945

Ford earned a bachelor of arts in economics in 1935 from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Yale University in 1941. He actively served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and served in the reserves until 1963. He received several medals and awards including:

American Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silver star and four bronze stars

Philippine Liberation Ribbon with two bronze stars

After World War II, Ford returned to Grand Rapids and became involved in civic affairs.

Ford married Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Warren on Oct. 15, 1948. They had four children together—Michael Gerald, John (Jack) Gardner, Steven Meigs, and Susan Elizabeth.

In 1948, he was elected as U.S. Representative for the fifth congressional district, and he continued to serve for 13 terms. After he was elected to his ninth term as congressman on Jan. 4, 1965, Ford became the House minority leader. That selection set the stage for his appointment to the vice presidency.

After Vice President Agnew resigned in 1973, President Nixon chose Ford as his vice president, making Ford the first to be appointed according to provisions of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. On Aug. 9, 1974, Ford became the 38th U.S. president after Nixon resigned.

Legacy of Healing

President Ford—1974

As president, Ford guided America through a difficult period when both Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon left their offices.

Undoubtedly relying on his experience as an Eagle Scout and the Scout Oath and Scout Law, Ford brought service and integrity back to the White House. His full pardon of Nixon, though unpopular, was an attempt to unify the polarized, partisan country and set the nation back on the road to recovery.

President Ford passed away on Dec. 26, 2006, in California. Hundreds of Scouts participated in his funeral, and a few Scouts were selected to serve as ushers at the Washington National Cathedral.